Pyrrhonian skepticism is named after an ancient school of thought based on the teachings of Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360–270 BCE). This essay explains Pyrrhonian skepticism, what motivates it, and some responses to it.
Author: 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
"1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology" is a constantly-growing collection of original essays on important philosophical topics. These essays are introductions rather than argumentative articles. Each essay is as close to 1000 words (while never going over!) as the author can get it. A 1000-word essay takes between five and ten minutes to read. That’s about the length of a bus ride or a waiting room stay or the lead-up to a class meeting.
Professional philosophy can seem abstract, esoteric, and hyper-specialized. But we all ask and try to answer philosophical questions myriad times daily: philosophy is the purview not just of the expert, but of all thoughtful people. Our goal in writing and sharing these essays is to provide high-quality introductions to great philosophical questions and debates. We hope that philosophers and non-philosophers alike will benefit from perusing these essays. Our authors generally provide references or sources for more information for readers whose interest is piqued by a particular topic or debate.
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Moral Education: Teaching Students to Become Better People
What are the proper moral education, and how should those goals be pursued? Theories of moral education try to answer that question: they provide ideas about how we can, and should, try to teach morality and shape students into morally better people. This essay introduces some of the most influential theories.
Kurt Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems
Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems—discovered by Austrian logician, mathematician, and philosopher Kurt Gödel (1906-1978)—are central to many philosophical debates about the limits of logical and mathematical reasoning. This essay introduces the Theorems and explains their importance.
Objects and their Parts: The Problem of Material Composition
An introduction to the problem of material composition, which is the attempt to answer the following question: under what circumstances do some smaller objects make up or compose some further object?”
Artificial Intelligence: The Possibility of Artificial Minds
An artificial intelligence or “AI” would be an entity that thinks or acts like an average human being—or even surpasses the average human being in cognitive abilities—yet is a machine or computer program. The idea of artificial intelligence is closely connected to several important philosophical discussions about the nature of minds. This essay is an introduction to philosophical thinking about artificial minds and AIs.
The Mind-Body Problem: What Are Minds?
What are minds? And what (if anything) is the relationship of the mind to the body/brain—or to anything in nature? These questions constitute the so-called “mind-body problem.” This essay introduces some of the most influential answers to these questions.
Seemings: Justifying Beliefs Based on How Things Seem
We often have something like a sense or feeling that something is true. Many philosophers believe that there’s a type of mental attitude that is connected to such feelings, called a seeming. This essay reviews some important philosophical issues about seemings.
Form and Matter: Hylomorphism
This essay provides an overview of the main claims and basic motivations for hylomorphism, the view that all material objects consist of both matter and form.
Immanuel Kant’s Theory of the Sublime
Some of the most memorable experiences in life—like these—fill us with a profound sense of wonder and awe. Philosophers consider these experiences examples of the sublime. This essay summarizes Kant’s theory of the sublime.
Philosophy of Color
What is color? Where, if anywhere, is it? Why do we see it? When do we see it correctly? And how should we go about answering these surprisingly difficult questions? This essay surveys philosophical work on color and color perception.